The present invention relates generally to positioning tooling with respect to a workpiece, and more particularly to an apparatus for positioning tooling with respect to a curvilinear workpiece.
Presently, the installation of fasteners during the assembly of aircraft wings, fuselages, and other components requires large machines, including conventional C-shaped tooling machines. Conventional C-shaped tooling machines may be equipped to drill, upset rivets, seal riveted joints, and perform other work on the constituent parts of the aircraft components. While such C-shaped machines operate effectively with workpieces of certain sizes and configurations, they encounter limitations wherein due to the configuration and/or size of the workpiece, access to the opposite sides thereof is limited. Also, the use of these C-shaped machines can require very complicated structures and procedures to support the workpiece in order to accommodate the same, and can also require the workpiece to be constantly repositioned, which consumes valuable production time. There is thus a need for an apparatus for positioning tooling overcomes such limitations.
The present invention provides a novel solution to the long felt need for an apparatus for positioning tooling with respect to large curvilinear workpieces.